Enthusiastic fans gobble up Jimmy Eat World

I sat in my car and studied the people in the long line, which snaked all the way to the Marlborough Hotel. Mostly younger than me, more men than women, oh wait! That couple looks older than me.

I thought about my Dad who, up until he suddenly died at 73 years old, was still going to Pop shows. He was always the oldest person at all the venues except for the Jazz shows. Is that going to be me? How do I feel about that? I honestly don’t know, I’m nowhere near that age yet.

As soon as the line started moving I jumped out of my car and ran across the street. The wind was cool and my body shook as I stood in line, strategically positioning myself behind people so they could block the wind for me.

A busker stood to the left of the entrance and played his guitar. Then I noticed Dwayne Larson from It’s A Music Thingsmiling with his camera pointed at the man and realized he wasn’t a busker at all. He was Dennis from Ten Foot Pole, aka Jimmy Eat World’s sound guy.

I found my seat and watched a guy climb the stairs wearing a shirt that said “Made in 1990, aged to perfection” which is utterly ridiculous because no one is aged to perfection in their twenties and if they were, there’s a hell of a lot more life to live after your 20’s and it would be a shame if the next 50 years was nothing but downhill.

And then I thought “TicketMOMster, this is too much introspection for a Jimmy Eat World concert. Stop it”. So I did.

Beach Slang took the stage to the sound of Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose”. Lead singer/guitarist, James Alex was loaded and reckless. His voice was terrible and off-pitch…which was completely effective for Punk Rock.

What the band lacked in musicianship, they more than made up for in energy. Their set was chalked full of hard, driving songs and James’ personable banter, which was entertaining throughout. Everyone had great energy and I really liked watching Aurore Ounjian play guitar (I’m sure most men in the theatre would agree). I just love to see women rock out like that.

The band played the first couple of bars of Carlos Santana’s “Smooth” but never played the full song. After the third and fourth time, it got a little irritating. Later, they played a few bars of popular 90’s tunes including Oasis’ “Wonderwall”, which was interesting due to James’ ragged voice. But it was the cover of Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind” that surprisingly gave me goose bumps.

*IF YOU’RE A FAN OF JIMMY EAT WORLD, STOP READING NOW AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!*

All I know about Jimmy Eat World is their song “The Middle”. Despite the fact it’s played ad nauseam on Power 97, I still really like it. It’s one of the most reassuring songs ever written for a teenage generation. I wish it was written when I was a teenager. How I would have loved to have my musical heroes tell me not to worry about the BS around me and that I was going to be just fine.

A smoke-filled stage with purple, blue and green lights greeted Jimmy Eat World as they kicked off their set with “You With Me”. “Bleed American” was exciting and energetic with strobe lights flashing through the theatre. The crowd seemed to love it and responded with cheers and enthusiastic clapping when it was over.

Jimmy Eat World at Garrick Centre on Monday night.

And then…it all started to sound the same. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have a history with this group, or maybe it’s just that they don’t write music that reaches me. I was pretty neutral during “I Will Steal You Back”, “Get Right”, “Lucky Denver Mint” and the slower “Hear You Me”. It surprised me when the audience reacted favourably to that one, the song didn’t really do anything for me.

I perked up during “Pass The Baby”, it sounded darker, unlike anything they had previously played. The band tinkered around in the darkness and I was expecting a build from the song, but they surprised me with an explosive, driving beat. Tingles shot up and down my legs and arms, but in the end, the crowd only gave them a half-hearted applause.

They continued to play more songs the crowd loved, which didn’t reach me. I resisted the urge to play with my phone. This band was working hard to entertain us and the least I could do was give them my full attention even if I wasn’t really into what they were doing.

I realized, during the three song encore, I know more Jimmy Eat World songs than I thought I did. The cell phones came out to record “The Middle”, “Sure And Certain” and “Sweetness”. All songs I had heard on the radio but didn’t know who sang them.

I guess that’s where I am with Jimmy Eat World. I like their singles, but find the rest of their stuff kind of boring. It makes me feel bad to say it, because I know they were working hard and I know the songs reached the bulk of the crowd. But I have to be honest; it just wasn’t for me. And sometimes that’s going to happen, especially with the amount of shows I see.

As always, these rockin’ shots are courtesy of Dwayne Larson fromIt’s A Music Thing. Head over to his page for more of tonight’s show, including shots of Dennis from Ten Foot Pole.

Good night!

Jimmy Eat World at Garrick Centre. /DWAYNE LARSON

P.S. Special thanks to Dwayne Larson for the use of these drool-worthy pics of Kip. For more great shots of tonight’s show, check outIt’s A Music Thing.

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